Will Li alerts me to an interesting and recent remark by Lakers head coach and "Zen Master" Phil Jackson:
I think it's important that the players take their end of it, get out of the prison garb and the thuggery aspect of basketball that has come along with hip-hop music in the last seven or eight years. (Scoop Jackson, "Sacred Ignorance," ESPN, 11/3/2005).So which NBA players wear "prison garb"? And how, specifically and empirically (i.e, not by popular yet unsubstantiated generalizations), does the "thuggery aspect of basketball" (however that is defined) actually correlate with "hip-hop music"?
And is this really the same "enlightened" Phil Jackson often described as deeply-philosophical and well-reasoned? Take a look at this glowing description from The Religion of Phil Jackson:
His approach emphasizes awareness, compassion and selfless team play to achieve victory. Jackson believes that the essence of teamwork is interconnectedness and selflessness in action. One of the most important characteristics of a leader, he concedes, is to listen without making judgments. In order to create a true team and build an acceptable level of trust, one must have intimacy and an open forum where every member can fully express his thoughts and feelings.When viewed in conjunction with Jackson's remarks above, I guess this "open forum where every member can fully express his thoughts and feelings" exists so long as those thoughts and feelings don't pertain to hip-hop or other things that Phil Jackson doesn't like.
So Phil Jackson really is open-minded--in the sense that, if he agrees with what you say and do, then you should be able to say and do those things. Gotta love that kind of open-mindedness!
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